Fire Emblem: Return of the Hero
by Girlaremo
Summary: It's just a normal place, New Crimea. Full of history, life and the pride that its kept for years.  I work at a museum for a Mister Creiddylad, who has an odd knack for getting odd things on display.  OC's are closed, maybe another chance later!
1. Prologue: Many Years Pass

_Okay, another Traveling Conspiracy for Ike. I am not a creeper. I'm not crazed in love over Ike. I just have free time and plans to tortu-er..._play _with Ike. :P_

_I do not own Fire Emblem, and I am aware that people would be mad if I did own Fire Emblem. :P _

_There will be a short OC form at the end of this. _

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><p>The sunset had dyed the room a golden color, and all the museum of Northern Crimea looked the same beautiful color in this light. At four, the lights were shut off for the night, since the electrical grid demanded that all buildings that were unnecessary in the night should turn off their lights and such to ensure that everyone would have power during the night. So, twilight had come, and it was time to leave again.<p>

A lone figure stood at the second floor balcony, Nero stood, dark navy hair rustling in the wind. He was the hired janitor of the museum, Mister Creiddylad hired him after his mother left him in Marron. It was an easy job, cleaning up shattered lightbulbs because of energy flares, checking the items on display and just general cleaning, he was nothing special, really.

"Nero, you know you can go home now. We've closed up for the night." Luci, one of the receptionists said. "Oh, and Mister C says that you're off for tomorrow. Well, we all are. They've got a new set of armor coming in and another exhibit on ice."

"On ice?" Nero asked, turning around. His greyish eyes confused. "Well, that actually doesn't surprise me."

She pushed back her pale burgundy braid and smiled, waving him along. "Come on, your little group must be waiting for you." She said, walking onward. The room was lined with tomes, the old kind that nobody could use anymore. Well, nobody could use magic. So, the magical swords, the staves, not even the small little charms people had didn't negate any illness like they said they would.

Nero walked down the hall, following Luci. "It's not as bad as the time he brought in an actual sprite in a bottle. How he got a hold of that, _I'll _never know." She laughed, looking back at him once in a while. "So, how's the Platypus group doing?"

She was mentioning the group of people that were camping out every once in a while at an old fort that stood in the forest. It was all safe, the doors worked, the latches were just fine, and no wild animal (or enemy) could get in. "We're all fine. That place gets warm in the winter, though. Whoever made it did a good job of keeping all the cracks shut!" He laughed, heading out the front glass doors. "Oh, and tell him I guess I'll be able to pick up my pay on Monday, then..."

"Will do, Kiddo." Luci smiled. "Have fun out there for the weekend, and be safe!"

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><p><strong>OC Form for this lovely Story! <strong>

**Fill in the questions, and be sure to be specific so I can breathe in some life! :D**

**1: Who are you? And what race, too?**

**2: You from around here? (aah! If you're from SoD, I don't think this'll work out well! _)**

**3: Who are you (very, very, very distantly!) related to?**

**4: What's your overall personality and appearance? **

**5: If in a fight, what class would you be?**

**6: How'd you meet Nero? (if not, I'll either be creative or just have some sort of meet-up. :P)**

**7: ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE? 8D**

****thanks for doing this quick thing! I really appreciate it, and I love OC stories where I can control the joystick! :D


	2. The Platypus Mercenaries, what fun

_Okay, yes, this is set in latter day Tellius (Okay, about 1000 years, give or take...)...and yeah...it's going. Going good. Here's to hoping my OC won't turn into a Sue...or in his case, a Stu? Well, give me heads up...and I'm pretty mellow, so you'd have to throw a hard round of 'This sucks' and 'This is terrible, you're a horrible author and I think you should just go die'. Yeah, I'll take a lot of crap before I snap. _

_I don't own Fire Emblem. :D If I did, it would mean the end of the world...earlier than normal. XD (I don't beleive it, but it's fun to say.)_

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><p>Nero walked down the dusty street, shuffling home to get a sleeping bag and a box of medical supplies for the fort. They were just kidding around and named their group the Platypus Mercenaries, just because it sounded fun. They weren't really all about doing jobs for money, but it was alright, right? With a duffle bag, he walked onward, not hearing the loud footsteps behind him.<p>

"_Neeeerrroooooo~" _Someone yelled, failing to stop, and ran over Nero. The quick running Myrmidon literally pummeled over Nero, sommersulted over him and ended up facing him with a dorky smile. "So, you're off work early?"

"...Please don't ever do that again. I feel indirectly violated." Nero said shakily, getting up off the ground.

"Sorry. Can't do that. I like running, and my breaks are off." He laughed, helping Nero up.

"What do you want now, Chester?" Nero popped his shoulder a little bit, wincing at the new pain.

"Oh, that's right..." Chester said, snapping his fingers. "Ginji wanted me to tell you that we're out of canned food, May is having trouble working the fireplace since Daniel and Lloyd and Matt are gone. Something's wrong at the house and it involved rats and...penut butter."

"Ew." Nero frowned, walking onward. "Who's at the fort now?"

"Um, I think I saw May heading there, I was there not long ago, and of course, Ginji and Max. Jakob is going to be out for a while, he and his work demand that he's out drilling a well over somewhere yonder." Chester sighed, relaying the information and walking with his hands behind his head. "We don't have many girls at the fort."

"We got two if you count yourself." Nero laughed, glancing at his friend who had an annoyed expression.

"That's funny. I'm sure Manzo would defend me here." He trotted along still, Nero following him and carrying the duffel bag.

"You think we should stop by Anna's to get some more canned stuff?" He asked, looking up at the darkening skies.

"Maybe. You got money?" Chester asked quickly.

"Nope."

"Then we're S-O-L until someone gets paid." He laughed, the lights suddenly going out for the night. "Well, we all know who's going to be happy when I get home."

"Your mom was using the lights to paint again, hunh?" Nero asked.

"Yeah. She's sold some of her stuff...she's just getting weird, now." Chester laughed nervously. "The doctors say its because of..."

"Ah." Nero clapped a hand on his shoulder as the tree line approached. "I'm not one for talking about parents."

"Your mom's still in Gallia?" He exclaimed, eyebrows arched. "Well, what's she doing there?"

"...She's all obsessed over heritage. She's scraping up the last of the burned records for our family." Nero sighed, pulling back a branch to get into the forest. "Dude, watch your step."

He looked down, seeing a huge cow chip right where he was going to place his foot. "Thank you...you just saved my shoe's life."

"You still owe me from running me over."

"Screw that, Nero." Chester laughed, trotting at a quick pace and started to a run. "See you at the fort!"

He always did that, and it was all fun and games until he tripped over a branch. Then it was hilarious. He hadn't tripped so far, and just listening to the sounds was fun...

_TMP TMP TMP TMP TMP TMP trip 'GYAH!' _

Always fun, always a mess to clean up. For a person who stood a little shorter and had slightly stubby legs, he could run faster than the wind or the ravens that lived in Pheonics. He could run up walls, if he tried. It was a gift, like May's unbelievable way of being able to heal people and know just what's going on. She was levelheaded beyond all get out, almost as level as Daniel...he was so lax it was terrifying.

When he got there, Ginji and Max were arguing over what's more important. Socks or gloves in cold weather. May was tending to whatever was on the hearth (recently built back up thanks to Nero) and Chester was lazing on the makeshift couch.

"Hey kid. Welcome back." Max called, putting Ginji in a headlock.

"Uncle! Uncle! Aunts! Hawks! Just lemme go, you smell like poop!" Ginji yelled, squirming away.

"That's my shoe. There was a huge cow plop outside the treeline." Max said, frowning. "Did you leave that?"

"Nope." Nero laughed, plopping down next to Chester. "So, what now?"

"We wait for the brothers three. And someone else. We've got a guest coming in from Gallia. He's been running all night." Ginji said, breaking away from Max's grip. "His name's Troy."

"Ah. Another guy." May sighed. "I tried to get Anissa to come, but she said that she'd be away from her food. She's seriously got a worm or something."

"That's a scary thought." Chester winced, rubbing his belly. "After seeing what they really looked like at the Dispensary, I don't think they're really...good."

"No kidding. Eating your insides alive..." Max frowned.

"That's just disturbing." Nero gagged. "I haven't seen them, but I know I like my intestines."

"Ditto." Ginji said, getting up and looking out the window. "Oh hey, there's someone coming."

May got up, looking out the window as well. "Oh, it's the brothers and..." She got all giddy, smiling. "Oh! Oh! It's Anissa! And that one guy you were talking about!"

"Troy."

"TROY!" She waved out the window, chestnut colored hair flying.

"And we thought she was mild." Max laughed.

* * *

><p><em>NEED. MORE. VARIETY! But, this was good! I got like, eight characters overnight! XD <em>

_Vill and Charlene. They made a bunch of, as ghostly Greil said in SoD, _History. _Oh, this is good. _

_I can't wait to get some other OC's! :D _

_Get some Daein People in here, we need some birds, too._


	3. Staying at the Fort

_Okay, I just need a second... *eats a falcon lunch (it's from my other fic. :P)* okay, let's go._

_A random note: I know my writing style is a little...rough around the edges: that's why I got on fanfiction, I'm trying to improve, I'll take a writing class at some point and improve! Thanks for helping me out. You know who you are!_

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><p>The night air made its way through the open windows of the fort, and tomorrow, they would all get up early to do some jobs. With the brothers, Anissa the eternally hungry and Troy in here, what was rather nice had turned into horribly cramped. Nobody wanted to really go to the other rooms, for fear of what was there...or what happened. You never knew, sometimes old-time people liked to do things.<p>

Troy was curled up in a ball closest to hearth, bicolor eyes closed for the night. He had one blue one, and the other was green, like his father's. How he got the blue one, it was his mother...and then the one before that was said to have one green eye and a purple one. He had an odd name, too...but that was irrelevant.

It was funny to see the people sleeping, how they looked and everything. Daniel, Matt and Lloyd were stuck in a clump, Daniel stuck with his arms over his head and Lloyd and Matt on either side. They had been like that since they were little, Daniel's spot was kind of required for his age and spot in the house, and he didn't seem to mind. Anissa lay on the flat side of the couch, chewing a piece of gum in her sleep to keep herself asleep. Chester kicked in his sleep, making May shuffle and retaliate. Max was on the far side of the room, and Ginji was on the end of the couch that Nero sat on.

Unable to sleep, it was going to be a long night.

"Oh jeez..." Nero slipped off the couch, almost stepping on Matt if it weren't for him rolling over quickly. He almost tripped over a stray bag of stuff, cursing under his breath as he gained his composure. With a quick sigh, he stepped out into the cool air, the full moon outside.

'_When one breathes like it's nothing, one can't understand what it's like to be grateful for it_.' The quote from his mother bounced in his mind, her words were true. He looked up, seeing the skies dotted with the pale white specks, and the yellowy glow from the town not far away. "I can't wait for Monday..." The thought of seeing what the heck the curator brought in from the world was almost scary, but fascinating at the same time. People would be wowed, and then the question would arise: 'Where the heck did you get this, and are you sure it's not a federal offense?'

Nero just sat out there for a while, looking around at the darkened landscapes, wondering what places other than here looked. It had been said that it was kind of hard to get in and out of Crimea, but the Gallians could go freely. Begnion, Daien and Peonics had some trouble, since the king had died last spring of odd circumstances. Goldoa rarely associated with everyone, and King Kurthanaga was on his last legs, and his child would probably be on the throne in no time.

"Hey, why are you out here?" May came out of the fort, rubbing her eyes and still a little tired. "Can't sleep?"

"Not really. It's cramped in there, and who knows how clean the sheets are?" Nero's face took on a pinkish hue, and he started to fiddle with a loose end on his shirt sleeve.

"While I'm thinking about it, can I see that rash you said you had on Monday?" She asked, smiling a little. "I swear on my life I won't do anything."

"Yeah, sure..." Nero pulled up the back of his shirt a little and turned towards her, a darkened rash shone in the light on his shoulder. It looked like a rash on a bruise, but some thought it was ringworm. "Is it any better?"

"...Did you get a tattoo? That's what it looks like." She said, pulling his shirt down. "You might want to get that ch..." May stopped, arching an eyebrow. "Wait, you're full beorec, right?"

"I dunno, my mom's doing genealogy and...it's a possibility." He replied tiredly. "I'm branded, aren't I?"

"It's not a bad thing, you know?" May shrugged, leaning on the wall. "Some branded people are really cool."

"Like who?"

"I think Mister Credillyad is. I mean, there's no other explanation why he's like the way he is." She picked at her nails, trying not to laugh.

"There's probably some reason he's a little off." Nero scooted up, leaning on the wall.

"Who said he was off?" May retorted.

"I thought you did."

"I didn't." She nudged him, smiling. "You just assumed!"

They talked for the rest of the night, finding themselves asleep leaning against eachother.

"Um, do we wake them up?" Matthew asked, high voice like a little girl's.

"Let's get our stuff and get ready to go to Ohma...we'll wake them up later."

Nero shuffled around, looking up at familiar faces. "You guys are such...utter..."

"Awesome people?" Chester added. "Yes, we know."

"I was going to insert a choice word, but May would hit me." Nero muttered, shaking her awake.

"Hmm...?" She sighed, looking up and flushed red. "Oh, oops."

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><p><em>At the museum...<em>

Unpacking everything was such a waste of time, as a security guard, Manzo never knew that he would be hauling in crates and doing all the work. In the morning air, he was already breaking a sweat, fanning himself with his hat. "What the heck is this?" He asked, looking around. Luci was trying to get the lid off of the first box, her thin frame didn't help her much there."You need some help with that?"

She looked up, smiling in embarrassment, leaning on the crowbar with all her weight. "No. I got it. I really do. I think you got all the boxes, though." She finally pried the lid off, looking at the contents. "More book-tomes. What does he want with these?"

"Creiddylad has an odd knack for the historical..." Manzo said, picking up another crowbar that sat on one of the 'touch me' displays. "But it always ends up being pretty darn exciting to see where he is..."

There was a loud thunk in the back room, both employees looked to the sound, Luci nodded in realization. "He's got that one exhibit from the university here. It's gonna be like a freezer in there." She said, taking out the books and looking them over.

"It's on ice, hunh?" He nodded, working his way around the wooden box. "I wonder what else he's got?"

"Says on the side that it's fragile." She noted, looking over her shoulder. "I'll be right back, I gotta take these up to the library. Creiddylad said he'd get them sorted as soon as they unloaded."

"Alright...I think I can handle this down here." Manzo said, waving her off. The lid creaked as the nails came out of the wood, and the lid toppled over the side. Looking down into the crate, it was a sight to see. it was a breastplate and two shoulder plates of armor, both ebony black and polished to the maximum. Obviously, someone was taking good care of this prior to the museum. "What is this?"

"Armor." Mister Creiddylad called, coming out of the back room. "It's from a famous knight once wore it, and I found it floating around the Daein Market somehow." He looked back to the room full of ice, smiling neutrally. "It's cold back there."

"Where do you want me to set this up?"

"Well, why don't we go see if the weapons gallery is free for a spot?" He replied, smiling a little. "I guess we'll have to move all of this."

"Oh, that's just fine." '_Manzo, you're a pushover.' _He said with a slight eye twitch. '_This stuff is heavy...'_

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><p><em>Okay! I'll get to Ohma later in the next chapter. Hm... exhibit on ice for the university...<em>

_This story smells of steampunk._


	4. Omah Work

_Anyone wanna make a museum in Japan? Hm? With all that Fire Emblem stuff? XD Oh, the win. I'd go to the New Crimea Museum of History. Ohh..._

_And the Falcon Lunch was from the Super Smash Bros. Fic. :P They were naming off fake products. (someone asked.)_

_Oh, and I forgot to say: I did not mean to delete a story, I was kind of emptying out the stories I didn't like, and sorry~! D: I won't delete anymore!_

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><p>"Ohma's a pretty long run..." Troy said, kind of breaking the awkward silence that the group had. "I mean, it's kind of long for you beorec." The morning was clear, and they were marching through a forest on the way to Ohma, the quickest route was through a small forest, a cow town and then the village of Ohma.<p>

"No kidding." Daniel rubbed his eyes and squinting. "Does anyone else see a big hairy blob?"

"That's me." Chester frowned, looking up at Daniel on his horse. "Jeez, have you been taking those drops like May told you to?"

"Daniel, if you want your vision to get better, you just can't stop in the middle of treatment." May said sternly, looking at the horseman.

"I'm sorry, but..."

"If you were sorry, you'd make us stop taking vitamins. They're nasty, and they taste like cow plop." Lloyd grumbled. "You're just really, really..."

"Being a hypocrite?" Matt suggested.

"Thank you." Lloyd smiled to his brother. "You're being a hypocrite!"

"Let's just leave it until we get our stuff done in Ohma." Nero took the paper for the job out of his pocket, frowning. "We've got...oh I misread this. We have to do manual labor. I thought it said kill my neighbor."

"What? How do you get that?" Max snatched the sheet and squinted, trying to see from his point of view. "You're not blind like squints back there..."

"I resent that." Daniel called.

"We know you do." Max rolled his eyes, still confused. "You must have been nuts. It says we have to clean a house. I thought we were mercenaries."

"We're a band of kids who do pickup jobs. I thought mercenaries sounded fancy." Nero admitted, snatching back the job form. "We'll be at Ohma around noon, so just keep your socks on."

"I don't wanna clean, it's dirty and I'm-"

"We know you're kind of finicky and whiny, Genji." Lloyd sighed, heaving along down the road. "We'll bet paid well for it."

"Um, one problem." Nero frowned. "We've gotta have the whole place spotless, otherwise they'll have us at a flat rate of three-hundred gold."

"What?" Chester whined. "That's terrible! I was thinking about doing awesome things with our fee!"

"Like what?" May asked.

"Buying food. Glorious food. Soup. Chicken. Bread." Chester named off numerous things that would show up on the menu of the fort. "...and chocolate. I want."

"You want everything." Max sighed.

"If it's edible, yes."

* * *

><p>~Somewhere at a tavern in Ohma (At around 8:00 the night before)<p>

"Come on, she's a lady! She can't outdrink you, Dozzie!" A couple burly men stood behind a huge man who looked like he could lift two cows with one arm He had a greasy grey beard frayed at the ends, and was bald on top. He was blubbering and trying to get to the shot glass that stood on the table next to a bottle of Gallian Whiskey. Not only was the alcohol content twice what whiskey was, it had a sharp bite from brewing multiple spices along with the barley base. Men cried after one half shot, and most would turn their noses from the drink. Only the brave took this chance.

Many people were watching this drink off, and cheered for the taken shots. This happened only when one got in a fight with another, over some sort of problem. Today's argument: 'Barbra the Barbarian', the woman who can outdrink anyone, except Dozzie of Daein. So far, they were at a stalemate.

"I'm- _hic- _sure that I could take another-_hic-_ shot." A woman said, leaning on the table in her chair. Beet red from intoxication, she smiled wickedly and took his shot from him. He gasped, eyes wide in the dim light. She just looked at him malevolently, laughing a little. "Well, why don't -_hic- _we take the bottle down now..." She grabbed at the thin bottle, pressing the rim to her lips and sloshing it down. What was a half full bottle of strong booze became an empty bottle that shone in the candle light, and Barbara grinned drunkenly. "I think-_hic- _you owe me some gold."

"I think...I think she's got the liver of Hades." Someone said, stumbling back.

"I can out drink -_hic- _all of you -_hic-" _She said, standing up shakily, flipping her braid out of her face. "Barbara is a BEAST! No offense to you, Arnie, you're a good kitty."

"Thanks..." The laguz merchant called, lifting his glass a little.

She started belting out 'Soft Kitty', stopped in the middle by the tavern owner, who promptly threw her out.

"Thank you, -_Hic- _people! I'm here until Thursday!" She called, the door slammed on her face, and she eventually fell asleep on a local hay cart.

Barbara the Gallian Whiskey Champion: With a liver of steel and a heart of gold, she was absolutely going to need to sober up overnight.

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><p><em>Present time<em>~

"Come on, I'm sure that this is child abuse." Chester groaned, picking up a moldy piece of cheese that somehow ended up in the second story dresser drawer. May gagged at the smell, stepping over a rat's nest.

"This is terrible. We'd better do a good job." She didn't say much, holding her hand to her mouth.

"The first floor too the whole morning! I'm covered in mold!" Lloyd groaned, picking up a broom an having it snap on him. "Even the cleaning utensils are protesting."

"Augh! I stepped in another pile of...oh, that's not rotten food. IT'S STILL ALIVE!" Ginji whined, making Matt cry. "Can we please go home?"

"You're just fine." Nero barked, upset after falling up the stairs and getting a streak of grime on the middle of his face from sliding down. "I smell...mint."

"That's me. I stuck a few sprigs up my nose." Max said, pointing to his leaf-filled nose. "Hey Troy, how are you holding up?"

"I've lost all sense of smell in my nose, and I think I'm going blind." Troy replied, poking out from the closet.

"I'm already halfway there." Daniel muttered, squinting at a pile of miscellaneous items before judging them as 'trash'.

"Oh snap!" Max snapped, there was as sudden burst of flames from his fingers, and he yelped in confusion. He ended up singing himself, holding his hand. "What the...what was that?"

"You snapped _fire...!" _Lloyd said, excitement seeping into his voice. _"_And it was _so cool! _Do it again!"

"People don't snap fire, Lloyd." Nero said, rubbing at his face. "Max what did you do?"

"I have NO CLUE!" Max growled. "REALLY? I could have had my eyebrows singed off, and you're wondering how I did it!"

"This is...this is so darn weird." Troy shook his head, startled by the fire. "Fire is bad. Fire. Oh jeez..."

"You're afraid of fire?" Matt asked.

"I dont know why, but I am. Please don't ever snap your fingers again." Troy shivered.

There was a loud commotion outside, and people screamed. Everyone rushed to the window, watching a bunch of rebels spill in the area.

"Good greif..." May breathed. "Come on, we need to help."

"Let's go!" Nero dashed off, falling down the stairs on some stray dirt. "And we're gonna clean the stairs after this..."

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><p><em>Oh, the random. I thought of Barbara after a drinking contest on Indiana Jones. Oh, I love Indie. Next to Sherlock Holmes, and The Man with No Name...and Ike. :P<em>

_I'm still thinking out the plot, but I know it's gonna deal with fire. _


	5. BANG!

_I'm pretty sure General Roy Mustang wouldn't wanna be in here. All the kids, and the fact they're (mostly ) all newbs. Oh, yay for unexplained magic! :D_

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><p>"Seriously! What's going on here?" The group of kids got outside, bandits were creeping around and looking for...well, whatever they were looking for. Nobody here had really seen bandits...they were a rare thing since everyone had <em>something <em>to do.

"They're bandits...?" Matt asked, cowering behind Daniel. "Oh, they're scary!"

"Would you please get out from behind me?" Daniel asked. Since he was one of the elder ones, he and Nero just glanced at each other and decided the best option.

"Okay. we're going to find the weapons and get these guys out of here." Nero said, looking around. "There's things all around that we can use to defeat them all.

"I'm not fighting." May sternly said. "Matt isn't either. We'll stay in the house while you guys do something about these thugs."

"Okay, that's fine with me."

"I'm hungry..." Anissa said quietly. "What do I do?"

"You're a girl..." Lloyd frowned. "Why would you wanna fight?"

"I dunno. If I can't, I'll just go inside. Maybe there's food." She walked off with May and Matt, the battle began.

"Okay, there's a lance over by that house, and there's a training sword over there...an an axe by the chipping block." Nero said, looking around.

"But that only arms a few of us! What do we do then, hm?" Chester asked. "Lloyd and Daniel get their own weapons, and I don't think I can handle an axe."

"We switch around, I guess." He shrugged. "Chester, you go in and get it, and then we'll just move the sword around to anyone who needs it."

"Alright..." He readied himself, looking at where the sword was. "In three...two...ONE." He sprinted off, catching the gaze of one of the bandits, the somewhat chunky bandit charged him. With such a small margin of error, Chester grabbed the sword, and quickly jumped back. "GAH!"

"Hello, Kiddie!" The thug grinned, swinging the axe around. "You wanna play?"

"No way, you're creepy!" Chester said, fear played across his face. He gave a quick slash, felling the bandit. "Catch, Ginji!"

Now, on normal circumstances throwing swords is a dangerous, scary and easy-to-get-injured in task. But in this case, everyone was extremely coordinated and could catch things well. Gingi (despite his whiny self) caught the blade, and slashed at an enemy. Everything seemed to be moving slowly, and in no time, Nero had the sword. Troy was trying not to die, but was being pushed back by the might of the man he was fighting.

"Lloyd! Stay out of the way!" Nero yelled, looking around for anyone who was coming up. He charged a bandit that was barely hanging on, but there were still more. The bandit pummeled him over, he landed on the ground. The town had been known now for making _bombs, _so there was a lot of black powder... "Wait a second...is that...?"

"It's black powder!" Max exclaimed, the group of them had been pushed into a small group right where they started. He stated snapping, Chester frowned.

"What the heck are you doing?" He yelled.

"We can blow them off with just a little spark." Max said, snapping faster.

"You'll blow us to bits!" Lloyd exclaimed. "You suicidal, bro?"

"No, I just need some _fire!" _A sudden spark flew from his fingers, thus igniting the powder. There was a quick yelp from the bandits, and then it all went bright.

The whole place exploded, small mounds of the powder gave off many explosions, and it was clear that everyone heard it. After the powder had been burned, a figure popped out of a hay cart, dazed and confused. "Oh, what's going on here?" She muttered, a moustache drawn on her face in black ink. "Did something happen?"

The ground was charred, and a group of smoldering, deafened and confused kids. The thugs were gone, having been able to flee in terror of the smoke and explosions.

"I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD DO THAT EVER AGAIN." Ginji yelled.

"WHAT?" Nero screamed. "I THINK WE SHOULD NEVER SET POWDER ON FIRE AGAIN."

"I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Daniel roared. "AND I CAN'T SEE..."

Troy was clinging to Daniel, utterly freaked out by all the fire.

"Woah, these kids are out of it...I wonder what happened." Barbara muttered, climbing out of the hay cart and groaning as her hangover headache. "Little kids...are you guys alright?" She asked.

"WHAT? WHAT'D SHE SAY?" Lloyd said, sticking his fingers in his ears, trying to pop them out of the deaf state they were in.

Barbara cringed at the yells, her brain throbbing. "Would you _please not yell?_" She asked, wincing angrily.

"I THINK SHE DOESN'T WANT US TO YELL!" Ginji looked at her, smiling. "RIGHT?"

"I' GONNA MURDER YOU ALL IF YOU DON'T STOP YELLING!" She roared at them, Matt was hanging out the window, looking terrified at her.

"OKA-" Nero stopped, cringing. "Okay...So, who are you?"

"Barbra. I just woke up from a drinking contest last night, and I've got wicked hangover. Who the heck are you?"

"We're migrato-"

"We're the Platypus Mercenaries. We do pickup jobs." Max said, smiling widely. "You are aware you have a moustache on your face, right?"

"Oh, I'm aware. That's what a bottle of Gallian Whiskey can do. Makes Lions buzzed, but kicks the arse of a beorec. I can't remember a thing about last night." She laughed.

"How do you know you were in a Drinking Competition?" May asked from the second story.

"...I got another tattoo." She said, looking at the irritated mark of a celtic pattern on her shoulder. "One celtic thing, a rose on my ankle, and something in Heron on the back of my other shoulder. That makes three."

"Well...that's odd." Nero backed away slowly, smiling. "Everyone, let's head back home...Like _now." _  
>Everyone ran off, trying to get away from Ohma as fast as they all could.<p>

"Bye, Barbra! See you soon!" Matt called, riding piggyback on May's back.

"Bye, kids!" She replied, making her headache spike. Cursing under her breath, she wandered back to the hay cart, and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>...<em>Barbara reminds me of Urya. Coincidence? Oh, I think so. XD <em>

_I thought of the black powder thing after playing Legend of Zelda, and watching the new Sherlock Holmes movie. (that was great. Robert Downy Jr. does a splendid job!)_

_...I think we all know who Daniel's related to. :D_


	6. Twins of Daein

_Oh, the children...they make me laugh. *runs from Barbara* _

_I'm still accepting OC's, but nobody seems to be reading it. *almost dies from attack from Max*_

_Tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell that one friend who won't get over Zelda and is liking Fire Emblem. *almost mauled by Troy*_

_Just help me out here~_

* * *

><p>~Castle Daein~<p>

The castle was quiet, but not for long. Lucinda came running down the hall, fistfulls of hair in her grasp. Breathing through her teeth and trying not to scream, she kicked open a door and yelled at her twin brother. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" She roared, the green haired teen was backed up against a book shelf, the last bits of his lunch in the library were on his chin. His red scarf was wound around his neck and his tan shirt had a lone streak of jam down the front. "_Tell me, did you happen to change my soaps, Emil?"_

_"_I swear on my life and my books, I did not." Emil stuttered, gulping down what was left in his mouth. He looked at his sister, bright blue eyes burning in anger. Instead of her normally green-hued hair, she had silver strands coming out of her scalp. "You look nice as a...er...grey?"

He ducked as she threw a vase at him, he skittered to the corner, Lucinda followed. "Emil..." She drew out, smiling like a wicked woman. "I'm going to count to three, and you tell me...what did you _do?"_

_"_I didn't do anything!" He said, fear jumping into his tone. "I didn't change your soaps!"

"One..."

"Oh Goddess above, save me!" Emil crawled under the table, pushing the chairs out of the way.

"Two..." She came back around, almost close to grabbing his scarf.

He stood at the door, looking at his glaring sister.

"Last words, It wasn't me." He said, holding his hands up and standing at the door.

"FREAKING THREE!" She screamed at him, making him throw a chair in the door and bolt. Emil made a noise similar to a squirrel chattering, and he was a streak of green and red to those looking in from the garden outside. "EMIL JAMES YOU ARE SO IN TROUBLE!"

He ducked into the dining hall, startling the guests that were there. The current king of Pheonics, and King Kurth were in castle Daein, along with the twin's father.

"Please, help me." Emil panted, leaning on the door to keep her out. "Luci thinks I dyed her hair silver."

"...What in the world...?" The hawk king said in a hushed tone, his dark brown hair was wind-swept and he had a healthy dark tan since he flew around so much. His muscular build was distinguished, no scars marked his body, either. "Dominic, your kids are crazy."

"No..." The Beorec king sighed, head in his hands. "It's just Monday."

Lucinda burst in, knocking Emil over on the ground. He flipped over, scooting back under the table and hitting his father's legs. Though they were teenagers, they acted like children when covering a dispute. Lucinda's hair fell in her face, making her angry.

"LOOK. What. HE. Did." She growled, setting her hair on the table. Her father just looked at it, frowning.

"So?" He shrugged. The other kings just looked at her, the hawk king looked quite...disturbed. Kurth frowned as well, still confused.

"Your kid got silver hair, and you're not upset about it. She's been like you since she was a child and it suddenly turned _silver?_" Kurth asked. "Interesting. I still have a lot to learn about beorecs, it seems."

"It's not that, Kurth." Dominic sighed, standing up. "Lucinda's just a little bit of a drama queen when it comes to these things."

Lucinda stomped her foot, frowning at her father. "He did it, I know it!" She dove under the table, making Emil crawl out and hit Kurth's legs. He just stared up in fear, just as Lucinda pulled him back and proceeded to choke him with his own scarf.

"Help...me...GACK!" He gagged, turning red. "Luci-!"

"Would you two stop that?" The Hawk King pulled them up from under the table, Emil just hung there limp while Lucinda groped and scratched and tried to claw anything she could. "It's like she's an angry little monster or something!"

"That's Luci for you, Griff." Dominic sighed, looking at his friends. "I think Emil fainted, though."

"He's about as soft as a Gallian Pear, Dominic." Griff sighed, looking over at Kurth. "Maybe we should send him home with you to help with his training."

"Training?" Kurth asked.

"We're trying to get him to be able to be like his father, the Thief King." Griff said, still holding on to Luci. She was trying to gnaw on something but her hands were out of range. "He's fast enough, but he's lacking on aggression."

"Ah, so I see." Kurth nodded. "It's just a matter of will to fight, then."

"Exactly." Dominic nodded.

"_Lemme at 'em! I'm gonna gnaw off your arm if you don't let me rip his head off!" _Lucinda growled, swiping and yowling. She acted like lava was running in her veins, and she had no other way to cool herself.

"Never mind. I think she has all the agression..." Dominic said quickly. "After all, they were together for nine months..."

"If they were laguz, it would be about seven years." Kurth said almost in a soft tone. "They'd be sick of each other by then."

"No kidding." Dominic shook his head, thinking of all the problems that could happen if they were dragon laguz. "Griff, you can put them down you know."

"I'm afraid if I put one down, the other one will do something." Griff was nodding towards Luci, who just hung there, glaring like she was going to rip something out of joint.

"You know what, you're fine...Kurth, what were you here to tell me, by the way?" Dominic asked, putting his hands on the table.

"I came to tell you that my life is almost at it's end points. I'm going to be leaving here soon." Kurth said, looking down. He looked young still, but Goldoan people's looks suddenly shifted from young to old when their time was up. "I also have a book of events that I've kept dating back from six-hundred twenty-six. I want you to keep it, King Daein."

"You brought us here to tell us you're dying?" Griff asked, eyes wide. Lucinda quieted down a little, brows arched.

"You're dying?" Lucinda asked. For some reason she had been cose to the dragons, and treated Kurth like her second father. He had been around forever...and now he was leaving. "What? You can't die! You can't!"

"Oh boy..." Dominic rolled his eyes. "Care to explain for her, Kurth?"

"Lucinda, there's a time for living, a time for dying and the time where people have to do things they don't want to." Kurth said. "My time to die has come, and it's the goddess' will for me to leave."

"I'm a princess, dang it! I'm telling you to _stay!_ _Please. _Just _stay._" She begged, wiping tears from her eyes. Emil was still passed out, and getting heavy.

"I may be a dragon, but I can't bend the will of the goddess, Lucinda. I will see you again in another life, Luci." He said, giving her a warm smile and leaving. Griff finally set her down, and the fighting and strong girl she had been collapsed into a crying heap.

"What do I do with the other one?" Griff asked, still holding Emil.

"He'll be fine..." Dominic said, reching over and plugging Emil's nose, waiting for a second and watching as he sputtered to life.

"I'm alive! I'm fine! I'm..." He looked round, his feet meeting the floor again. "Why's Luci crying."

"It's Kurth's time to go." Dominic said frankly. "She's going to be like this for a while..."

* * *

><p><em>Augh...I killed Kurth. (He's lived over 1,000 years...sheesh!) <em>

_*is reminded of Nirr* _

_No white haired sues. I promise. D:_


	7. It's all Melting!

_So...trying to update. HNN._

* * *

><p>"I'm sure this was all a trick." Max laughed, snapping a little bit. "Oh, just a harmless little prank..."<p>

"You _snapped __fire." _Nero said, putting out a bit of Max's hair with a quick pinch to the singed end. "You blew up a town."

"It was Ohma. It's not a town. It's a village." Chester pointed out, rubbing off some soot. "I think I can hear again."

"Well, that makes one of us..." Daniel muttered, trying to get his hearing back to one-hundred again. The way he was squinting, he looked like he was running with his eyes closed, and somehow evading the tree branches that came at him.

"What are we gonna do now?" May asked, carrying Matt on her shoulders. "We're all charred, beaten and we've been paid a good amount."

"We'll go home, eat, and get some things straightened out. Sound good?" Nero groaned, rubbing his heck.

"Food always sounds good..." Troy admitted, lagging around by Anissa.

"Yes, yes it is..." She yawned, stretching her arms up high.

"Did we forget Ginji back there?" Max asked.

"No, he's up here by Troy." Lloyd called back. "Hey, do you think we should stop back in town for a quick second to get some things? It's gona be a hot one today."

"We're getting an Indian Summer now? At this time?" May asked, moving Matt farther up. "Well, that's odd."

"My dad said it used to get hotter than this back in his dad's time. Said that the winter was cold, and the summers were hotter than...Goldoa."

"...Goldoa is kind of hot." Ginji said, twiddling his fingers. "Yeah, they haven't had a climate change in centuries."

"Creepy." Nero muttered, shaking some ash and dirt out of his hair. "...So we go to town, get supplies, make food and talk about what crazy crap happened." He nodded, looking at Chester. "Sounds good, right?"

"Well, that's fine...as long as Anissa doesn't eat me. She's making weird faces and all that..." Ginji muttered, shuffling away.

"...You would go nice with a good beef broth and a couple bay leaves and vegetables..." Anissa drooled, grinning crazily.

"Anissa, don't eat Ginji. He's gamy and he's kind of...whiny." Chester said, raising his brows. "Eh..."

"What? Who would we eat if we were cannibals?" Max asked.

"We're cannibals now?" May asked.

"Don't eat me, I taste terrible, and Lloyd tastes like chicken!" Matt whined, confused by the whole conversation.

"Matt, nobody's gonna be a cannibal." Daniel sighed.

"I wouldn't be a cannibal. I'm Laguz." Troy smiled toothily at Matt, making him freak out even more.

"Would you please not do that? It's creepy when Laguz smile!" Ginji whined even more.

"Someone's gonna eat meeee~!" Matt cried.

"Oh for the love of sanity..." Nero muttered under his breath. "...I think I'm gonna die..."

* * *

><p>~At the Museum~<p>

"Luci, where's the water coming from?" Manzo complained, trying to keep his balance on the slick floor. He instantly regretted waxing the marble, and his shoes weren't helping as he gingerly stepped along. "I checked the plumbin-!" _Squeeep! THUD. _Manzo groaned as he sat in a puddle of water and his hat was slung disorderly over his head. "I spend my weekends and nights here, just to fall on my butt and mop up water..." He picked himself up, water dripping down his slacks.

"Did you have a spill or something?" Luci asked, sloshing around in her bare feet. She was smart enough to know that her flat bottom shoes wouldn't do well in this kind of aqua-littered terrain.

"Yeah, a _spill_." Manzo rolled his eyes, seeing one of the other janitors doing some sort of ice skating technique on the slick floor. "Really? We've got water flowing out our ears, and Bob Joe is doing-!"

"Ah, Manzo!" Mister Credillyad called from the upper level. He smiled, meaning that there was something planned. "I need you to make sure that all the water is detoured from the floor. I know you're only supposed to be a night watchmen, but I really..."

"...I'll get to it..." Manzo sighed, sloshing through the inch of standing water. At this rate, there would be a good chance that there would be no frozen exhibit, and everyone would go home without that lovely experience. "...Frozen things...bah. Detour the water, make sure things are all fine, I better get paid...but it's your job and Credillyad might be crazy after all..."

"I heard that."

'_Shoot!'_

* * *

><p><em>It's a dangerously short chapter (my standards, it's like, not even 900 words, cause I'm not counting the AN. Bahahhah. I just needed to update._


	8. Water's Water, Especially to Cats

_Okay, here's the thing...YOU GUYS ARE GREAT AND THANKS FOR LETTING ME HANDLE YOUR OC'S! :D I PROMISE I WON'T MURDER SOMEONE WITH THE BLUNT SIDE OF AN AXE! :D Second time OC givers are greatly thanked. :D_

* * *

><p>The water was one thing to see pouring out of the Museum, the actual mess inside was almost terrifying. Nero came in, his friends stopped behind him, looking at all the standing water.<p>

"Manzo, what's going on in here?" Nero called, getting Luci instead.

"The Indian Summer is melting the frozen exhibit, and it's kind of...Made a mess." She laughed, her skirt knotted at her knees. "This reminds me of the time we got that one fountain in the front hall and it overflowed..."

"Ah, Nero! Good timing! You and your friends could help us!" Mister Credillyad called, waving him in. "We've got a bit of a leak."

"Really? We come back into town, and we're asked to clean up a leak. That's _great!_" Chester groaned, looking at Troy, who was clinging to the door. "What in the name of flying birds are you doing?"

"I'm not gonna touch the floor until it's _dry_." Troy hissed, glaring at his companions. "I don't like water, and I'm never intending on getting a bath."

"You're pathetic." Max sighed, hitting him to the ground with a watery thud. Troy yelled as if he were drowning, scuttling around and trying to get up. He just slipped around, almost yowling.

"I hate you s-so m-much!" Troy said, finally sliding to the outdoor stairs and getting up, soaking wet.

"That was fun. Do it again." Lloyd laughed, sloshing forward. "What do you want us to do Mister C?"

"...I'll let you decide. Clean it up, keep it clean, and make sure there's no smell of wet cat in here." He laughed shortly, leaning on the balcony. "Oh, and I wouldn't go in the actual exhibit, it's kind of messy in there. I'll get an actual cleaning crew in there. for that."

"Way to be limiting." Daniel sighed.

* * *

><p>~Later...<p>

After hours of mopping, scrubbing, drying and patting the water out of the carpet in some places, it was finally done, and almost everything was dry.

"Okay, we got this dried well, and...It seems the melting water has stopped." May said, looking at the door's small gap at the bottom of the frame. "Do you think we should check?"

"Do you want me to lose my job? You gotta realize I do work here and the antlers of that deer goat are _not _for itching your _back, _Lloyd!" Nero groaned, looking at him with a terrible glare.

"Hey, my back itches!" He called back, Chester hit him with the wet end of the mop.

"Itch that, Lloyd." Chester laughed, starting a mop fight. Ginji ended up in the middle, and the fight was being mediated by Daniel in no time. Anissa was laying on one of the benches, sleeping off her hunger and Max...No-one knew where Max was.

"...Mister C, we're done..." Nero called, looking around for either Max or said curator. "Hello~"

With the museum usually not empty like this, it was almost eerie to go around like this. May was following from a distance, and put in her two cents.

"I don't think he's here. We'll just leave a message and come back later." She suggested.

"That sounds good...let's just get home...I'm beat." Nero sighed, walking back to the sound of Lloyd being strangled by a mop by his own brother and Ginji.

"Don't! EVER! Try that AGAIN!" Daniel roared.

"Gack! I'm sorry! I promise, I won't ever-! ACK!" Lloyd choked.

"For goodness sake..." Nero groaned.

* * *

><p>~Even Later<p>

"Okay, we've got twelve cans of pork and beans, miscellaneous cans of vegetables, a few cans of fruit, and canned bread. Who got that?" May asked, looking at the back of the group, namely at Anissa.

"That's mine...sorry..." She said quietly, taking the canned bread. "...Yay bread..."

"You're an odd one..." Ginji said, still wringing water out of his clothes. Chester was slightly damp, as was Lloyd. "Very, very odd..."

"At least I'm not eating you..." Anissa said, smiling a little to herself. "I need a can opener..."

"We've got one back at the fort." Nero called. "Please don't open that with your teeth...and don't ask Troy to do it, either. He licks himself."

"You just take the fun out of everything." Troy muttered. "Anyway! I'm a cat! I can clean myself!"

"That's gross..." Daniel frowned. "I'm seriously glad I'm not you."

"It could be worse! You could be one of the Wolves and smell like dog all the time!" Troy argued.

In the dimming twilight, they all tiredly marched home, and all came inside, dispersing in the fort.

"Okay, who's tracking in water?" May called, whining in her tone. "I already mopped enough today..."

"Dude, it's not me...those boot prints are too big to be mine..." Lloyd said, Looking at the prints. "Heh, it looks like someone's got iron toes on their boots..."

Everyone looked at their shoes, no such thing clung to the tips of their boots, and that's when the question arose.

"...If they're not our shoes, and we didn't come in here earlier, whose are they?" Max asked, a little confused look in his eyes came about.

They all followed the boot prints, down the hall, lit by some candles that had been mysteriously put up. In the orange glow of the flame, they all, wide eyed and curious, looked at the door at which they ended. The boots sat by the door, still dripping slightly, meaning that whoever it was was still here, and was there for a while. The door was cracked open slightly, and the air was quiet. Nero was in the front with all the people, smacked in the middle between Ginji and May.

"What do we do?" Max whispered loudly.

"I don't know! Why don't we open the door!" Troy suggested, ears pushed back against his head.

"What if they're just waiting for us to open the door and...what if they're a thug who fell into a lake?" Chester asked.

"You'd run..." Anissa said, trailing off. "I'm hungary..."

"Okay, we'll open the door, and then we'll find out if he's bad or not." Lloyd suggested.

"Who made you boss?" Daniel asked, hitting him in the head. "Anyway, what if _he's _a _she?__" _

"PSH! Those boots are too big for a girl's foot!" Lloyd retorted, mumbling under his breath.

"Mom's feet are kind of big..." Matthew said quietly, so nobody could hear.

The crowd hushed, the tension in the air was almost unbearable. Nero slowly reached a hand to the door, and tapped it open, the old hinges creaked loudly, but nobody stirred. A human sized lump lay on an old bed, covered by a blanket that May had brought in. A soggy looking and slightly out of date outer coat, cape and a couple gloves hang out, along with a long pile of bandages. And to top it all off, there was a sword in the corner. Everyone stood there with wide eyes, taking this all in almost too slowly.

There was a soft grunt from the lump, and it slowly rolled over, the blanket moving down, and a confused face could be seen, trying to figure something out.

"Oh my g..."

"What in the name of..." He said, brows slowly furrowing closer and closer, and then a single sneeze from Matt set them all off, and there was a screaming symphony of children, running to the wide living room. There was a thud, and the questions poured out.

"Who the heck is that!"

"My Goddess, he's gonna kill us, isn't he?"

"AH GADDAS, THE HORRA!"

"Get a hold of yourself, Troy!"

"Why are you drooling?"

"Oops...sorry...I still haven't even eaten..."

"Excuse me...?"

"WHAT?" They all yelled, looking at the person in the hall. He was kind of skinny looking, blue hair flat against his head and a blanket around his shoulders.

"...Who the heck are you people...?" He asked simply, followed by a sneeze.

"That's it. Come here..." May sighed, shaking her head. "If I weren't some sort of genius, I'd think you were just some skinny person..." She got up and pulled out a pack of matches and struck one, throwing it into the pile of dry wood. "Daniel, get something going, you're better at cooking than me. Max, Ginji, and Matt, you go get more blankets, he's freezing."

"May, what the heck are you doing?" Nero asked, still a little panicked.

"I'm being nice." May smiled, glancing back at Nero and helping the stranger to a spot on the couch. "You just sit here, okay? I'll be back with some dry clothes or something. I'm May, by the way. If you need me, ask Nero. He'll help, I'm sure." She went off, and hummed, and most others had walked off.

There was an awkward silence, and then he spoke.

"So, you're Nero, I take it?" He asked.

"Yep. I'm Nero." Nero nodded, nerves finally settling down.

"Ah. Odd name, but it works for an odd looking kid like you." He laughed. Nero stifled a remark, and just bit his tongue instead.

"What's your name, then? We just can't keep calling you 'stranger'."

"I'm Ike."

* * *

><p><em>IT'S BLUNT! :D<em>


	9. The Shocking Reality

_I've got a feeling...THIS HAS TURNED INTO FUTURAMA AND A MIX OF ENCINO MAN AND FIRE EMBLEM! ...I just had to get that out of the way. :P _

_Canned bread, in this case, isn't booze. XD Anissa just eats weird things. :D _

* * *

><p>"I've got this weird feeling..." Chester said, laying his head on the table. He sat next to Nero and Troy. "That I almost know him."<p>

"He's living in the fort. You know him." Troy sighed, tail flipping. He looked around, Ike had fallen asleep on the couch. "Where did he say he was from?"

"Crimea." Nero said quickly. "He said he's usually more fit than what he is now."

"More fit? He's got more muscle than you and me, Nero." Chester groaned. "How can he say that? How..." The fire mage perked up, looking at the visitor. "By George, I think I _do _know him."

"How so?" Lloyd had come in at random, poking around the wide kettle that May had found and Daniel cooked in. "He just looks like a kind of tough guy you would find at school."

"I have a textbook. I'm getting it. I remember his face from _somewhere_." Chester said, getting out of sight in about five seconds or less.

"What's wrong with him?" May came in, coming after Lloyd with a spoon. He gave a quick yelp and laughed, making Troy scoot over for him.

"He's just...Chester." Troy shrugged. "He thinks this guy came out of a book."

"That's not creepy at all." May rolled her eyes, and as soon as she did, Chester came back.

"Here it is here it is here it is." Chester chanted, slamming the book on the table. Ike made no movement, which was also kind of unnerving in a certain kind of way. He flipped open the cover and then to a certain page, the one about the Crimean War. "'General Ike of the Greil Mercenaries, the young hero of the Crimean War, and the fabled 'Judgement War'. He has been said to have traveled somewhere and never returned.'..." Chester read epically, smiling. "See?"

"...He doesn't look like a general." Lloyd said.

"He doesn't even look like an Ike." Troy said. "I was thinking more of a Paris...or an Isaac." May nodded in agreement, pretending to stroke faux beard.

"Yes...he does look like an Isaac to me..." She said, looking back over at Chester. "What makes you think that he's the war hero in your book? It's virtually impossible."

"Improbable." Nero added, poking around the history book. A small portrait caught his eye, he recognized the image from the hulking framed painting in the museum. "I mean, it's not like he was stuck in a ice cube for a few years, right?"

The room remained silent in consideration, and then Lloyd came up with the mother of all bad ideas that came from Lloyd. "Okay, they say war generals are supposed to be attuned to the sounds of war, weapons, and even the slightest noise that means someone's attacking, right?"

"Sure, sure..." Troy said, ears piqued up slightly. "They kind of are supposed to be like that."

"There are some old bows in one of the back rooms, and I'm sure that if we pluck the string, something will go off and Chester's point will be proven." Lloyd smiled triumphantly holding his arms out. "Am I not a genius here?"

"...You're something alright." Nero sighed, getting up. "I'll go get the bow, and you decide who's going to be the one who pulls the string?"

As soon as he left, the four of them decided in the most mature way possible...

"ROCK! PAPER! SCISSORS! LIZARD! HAWK!"

"Daww, man! Best outta three!" Lloyd yelled. It ended up that Chester, since he was one of the faster runners and he ultimately lost the 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' battle, would be the one to run away if he had some sort of freak out. So, all were spread out around the couch a safe distance from the sleeping lump on the couch, Chester with the bow in his hand, and an arrow notched just for good measure.

"So I fire this off and see if he reacts to the sound, right?" Chester whispered, curious.

"Yeah, that's how it's done." Lloyd said, nodding to him. "Now, go go go."

Chester looked uneasy, taking the arrow between his two fingers, pulling the bowstring tight. He shut his eyes, letting the arrow go and the bowstring snapped crisply, and like they thought, Ike suddenly was up, flailing a little to get out of the blankets, and immediately knew that it was just a small scale heist after looking around at the others.

"Really? You would really do that? Do you have no respect for sleeping people?" Ike asked, rubbing his eyes. His stomach gave an audible growl, his eyes followed the sound. "...I must be empty..."

"You're something alright..." Troy asked, looking over at Lloyd for a minute, and then he looked sternly back at Ike. "Hey, I forgot to ask...What year is it?"

"Hm? Oh, it's Six-hundred...thiry. Last year I..." He looked up at them, confused. "What are you looking at me like that for?"

"Um, you're off a few years..." May said, pulling at her hair nervously. "Maybe a...thousand?"

Ike looked at her like she was crazy, trying to make sense of what was going on. "I...I think I need to get some air..." He said, stumbling for the door. As soon as he hit the grassy turf around the fort, he rushed into a run. Everything was suddenly going so fast, every color of the world was running together, blurring the lines of sanity and the madness that was slowly creeping upon him.

_One thousand years. _

_One thousand years, I was gone._

_What do I do?_

Ike thought to himself, brushing past the clawing branches of the woods, his feet slowing him down to a slow trot. His breath was ragged in his chest, and his heart was pounding in his ears. _Thm-thp, thm-thp, thm-thp._

He stopped, hands resting on his knees, trying to get some thought back in his mind. How far had he really run? And...where was he? He was still in the forest, in a deeper part where a meadow opened up the forest with a couple trees in the middle. One tall White Birch, A slightly shorter Oak and a flowering Magnolia, a few stones lodged in the ground spread around evenly with pale white lilies also blooming all around.

Looking around, a faint remembrance came, and then he realized, a few yards over, there used to be a lake. A little beyond the lake was a small grove of trees and a small merchant trail beyond that even farther. Now, it was all trees and nothing else remained.

Time had flown past him, and nothing made sense. Everything was falling into what felt like pieces, all he knew...all he knew was different. Even the air was different now, and nothing...nothing...was right. Ike squatted down, his head in his hands, trying to make sense of it all. He sat like that for a long while, with a blank mind.

He stared in front of him, arms now on his knees, and head on his arms. In front of him was a pair of odd stones placed at the base of the tree, one next to the other, and almost illegible text on them. All he could make out was '-aring -ther' and numbers, the other one in worse shape than the other. It eventually came to him that he was sitting in front of gravestones, and they were probably from someone he knew. Oh the tragedy.

"Everyone I know is dead and gone...what am I going to do now...?" Ike muttered to himself, the warm breeze was only a little comforting, and still nothing for his now cold persona. "I could start out by finding out what actually happened to me..."

As of now, he was just some guy who survived many, many years, and the thought of Ike was a dying ember. The story of him and his friends were in _books _now. What did his family think when he didn't come back after ten years? Twenty? How worried was Mist when _thirty _years had gone by? When she and her children were sitting around the fireplace and she and Boyd had finally given up on him ever returning? What was it like on her birthday, wishing and praying for a miracle that her brother might come home this year? What would she say to Soren, and what would he do?

His mind was swimming with questions, and then one arose more than others.

What did he really leave behind?

* * *

><p><em>lots of questions. Many, many many...<em>


	10. When things get odd

_Haven't. Updated. In. Forever. Oh jeez. Poor Ike. D:_

* * *

><p>"You think he's okay?" May asked, peeking into the den. "I mean, he's been there just sleeping for hours. He came home late, he's slept late he-"<p>

"He just found out he's the only one of his family left. He's been missing for too long. It's catching up to him." Lloyd said, slowly raising an old smoke pipe and squinting up his eyes. "Imagine that all you knew just went up into dust, and something you weren't used to came along, replacing the norm..."

"When did you become smart?" Max asked, frowning a little as he stepped into the den.

"When you became ugly. Oh wait, you've always been that way." Lloyd chortled, getting a quick rap on the head from Daniel with the soup spoon.

"You're not the prettiest mug in the house, either. Anyway, he wants to catch up on some sleep, he'll get it." Daniel said.

"Fine...Hey, where's Nero today?"

"Mister C called him in again, it's about the huge armor set that came in a couple days ago. Something about cleaning it properly." Ginji said, coming in from nowhere.

"Woah, when did you get here?" Max asked, giving him a confused sideways glance.

"...I've always been here. Didn't you notice me?" Ginji asked, a little offended.

"You're just...quiet. That's all." Daniel frowned. "Nothing wrong with that."

"BUT THERE IS!" Ginji complained, hanging his head.

* * *

><p>~Museum<p>

"I have to clean that thing." Nero said, eye twitching.

"Yess..." Manzo nodded, going over the instructions for the eighth time.

"With a rag and polish...from a cable on the ceiling?" Nero looked at Manzo, who held up his hands in defense.

"Not my rules, it's just that Mister C doesn't want us to mess it all up." He shook his head.

"That's nuts! I bet there's someone lighter than me to do the job!" The dark haired teen stomped, getting an odd look from Manzo.

"Didn't know you stomped like a little girl, there, Nero." He chuckled.

"Aww, shuddup." He said indignantly, glancing back at the armor. It was impressive, really. And the fact that it was so well kept...Not a spot of rust took away from its glory. "Well, there's gonna be a lot of crap flyin' today..."

"...I seriously hope that you guys don't...you know. Maybe fall. That would hurt." Manzo said smartly.

"No dip, super sleuth!"

"You still gonna clean that?"

"...It's either that, or my paycheck..." Nero groaned, looking at the chord on the ceiling. "I'll go get the harness..."

* * *

><p><em>I tried to make it a little over five hundred words, but...but it didn't work so well...Please forgive me, when my life calms down a bit, I'll update.<em>


	11. I'm not so sure

_Updating again, maybe I'll get a good chapter, ne?_

It was something else to look through the history book that Chester had left. He had missed so much. There was another war, Queen Elincia had children (who were a little less than...pretty, let's say) and Micaiah eventually rebuilt Daein.

"Having a little bit of fun there?" May asked, coming after a day or so of schooling, and what she called 'work'.

"...How in the world did the Herons think to join with Pheonics? How...?" Ike asked, shutting the book and holding it up. "I think this is false."

"It's not false, you were just..." May said, setting down her things. "You were gone. That's all."

"I for one, knew Lady Micaiah, and I _know _she and Sothe would have never had children. I mean, they were..." Ike trailed off, a frown slowly made its way down his face. "I don't think I want to think about this."

"I wouldn't." May said, rolling her eyes and trotting out to the well. "It's kind of creepy to think of things like that. "I mean, it's..." She came back in, water almost sloshed out of the bucket.

"Just...yeah. Never mind...What about the Civil War in Begnion?" Ike asked, putting down the book for a couple seconds.

"The daughter of the high priestess Sanaki started having delusions, and declared war on itself. She made a second senate, and drove everyone into a deep hole."

"...That's terrible." Ike said, looking away a little.

"They're still fighting. Now they're upset because they're claiming that the Holy Sword is theirs. The other one went missing a long time ago and..." She looked at Ike, cocking her head to the side. "Wait a second...I think you have it."

"What?" Ike asked, making the same confused face.

"The Holy Sword's twin. I think you have it."

"Since when did Ragnell become 'The Holy Sword'?"

"Since Alondite ended up in the Begnion Senate House." May retorted. "You, my friend, have a national artifact."

Confused, annoyed and slightly on the hungry side, Ike groaned and flopped over on the couch, trying to make sense of it all.

He had a seriously old sword blessed by Yune, a misfit and out of date set of clothes, an empty stomach, and all the time in the world to catch up. Brilliant. This was brilliant, and seriously confusing. Great.

"I don't think anyone would want to see you with that around the square, so you might wanna...I don't know."

"Hey, anyone here?" Someone called, knocking on the door and sticking his head in. He looked like he needed a hair cut, the shaggy blonde curtain hung in his eyes, and he looked like he had a bow and arrow set on his back. "I was looking for a group to join to do some work?"

"Um, the boss isn't in yet, but he'll be back soon." May smiled, waving the character in. "What's your name?"

"Will." He strode in, looking like he kind of had a fight with an alligator. He definitely lived by himself, running around and doing pick-up jobs.

"I'm May, and this is...er...Isaac." May lied, smiling a little. "He's my...cousin. And he's mute."

"Oh...Darn." Will said, a dubious expression on his face. "That's... that's a shame."

Ike arched a brow at her, raising his hands in the air, asking 'what the heck are you doing?'

"So, you came in about work?" She asked, grabbing a couple vegetables and starting to dice them up.

"Yeah, I was around when your group kind of...Blew up Ohma?" Will said, making a slight smirk appear. "I thought, 'They actually are mercenaries, why don't I ask?'. You guys are kind of hard to find."

'_Well, he's straight forward._' Ike thought to himself. _'Wonder what's gonna happen now...?'_

"Well, yeah. We're here sporadically, so we're just...you know. On and off, doing things on the weekend." May said, smiling to herself as she chopped. "You handy with a sword?"

"I need a little training, but I'm alright..." He said, shrugging a little. "I'd be greatly pleased to have someone to train with."

'_Well, well...we've got a little Edward, don't we?'_ Ike rolled his eyes, getting up and snagging an apple from the basket on the counter as he walked off.

"...Is he moody, or does he not like me or something?" Will asked, brow furrowed.

"He's moody. He's been... er...asleep for a while." May said, another odd look fired off. "Too much sleep makes him moody."

"Odd, but pretty believable." Will shrugged. "He looks more like a 'Paris' than 'Isaac', actually..."

"I know, right?" May exclaimed, a wide and nervous smile on her face.

~oOoOoOo~

*Later

"You're really lucky to be here, I mean, we always need more people to help us out." Nero said, cleaning out a room for the guest. "You said you just wander around?"

"Yeah, I'm just picking stuff up here and there, no biggie." He replied, heaving a huge box of what looked like bottles out of the way. "Thanks for letting me stay and work with you guys."

"No problem. That's us. The Platypus Mercenaries: Helping all if they need it." Nero said, wiping dust off his face. "You think this'll be good enough for you? I'd have to ask May and Daniel to help clean this..."

"Yeah, it's fine. Dust doesn't bother me too much, and I've slept in worser conditions."

"Yeah, the worst I've been on would be the floor..." Nero laughed, picking up the dustpan from the floor. "And it was carpeted at that."

"Carpet...I don't like it. Too...er..." He fumbled for words, snapping a little. "Carpet-y."

"That's...wait a second, snap again." Nero frowned, looking at Will's fingers.

He did so, sparks flew and Nero thought he was going crazy. "What in the world...?"

"Hey, not my fault. I've been doing this for days now." Will said, snapping his fingers, making sparks like a lighter. "I've burnt part of my eyebrow off, too. It's rather creepy."

"Creepy, no. Cool and unusual, YES." Nero said, snapping with no sparks. "That's totally unfair."

"GAH-CHOO!" There was a sudden clattering and banging outside the room, the two ran out to the hall, seeing the coffee table that sat in front of the couch split in half. Max was sitting on the couch, Ginji on one side and Ike frowning in some sort of confusion and displeasure.

"What in the holy name of Yune did you do?" Troy asked, shaking his head a little.

"I have no freakin clue." Max shook his head and wiped his nose, also kind of freaking out.

* * *

><p><em>finally updated. More fire. Max broke wind.<em>

_...I need some sleep..._


	12. Ike needs a day out

_I'm sorry I haven't updated! D: I'm so sorry! That Guy (Seriously, that's his anon name!) keeps reminding me of the whole 'you must update today thing. Alrighty, on with the writing!_

* * *

><p>"Okay so Ginji can sneeze wind, Max and Will can snap sparks..." May sighed, arms wrapped around a giant stack of books. "There's something wrong with this picture."<p>

The group was coming back from a day in town (School had started up again for a month, so the fort would be unmanned for at least thirty days.) "I really don't know what's going on, and I almost don't want to find out." Chester sighed, rubbing his neck. "I fell asleep in Durren's class, and now I'm regretting it."

"Oh really?" Will asked. He had followed them along, making for a little bit of what Ike would have called 'edu-ma-cay-shunn'. He was really, really out of it when they left, and sadly, Lloyd wanted to see what he had done while they were gone. "I heard someone threw chalk at you."

"That chalk was painful!" Chester argued. Lloyd and Will snickered, getting angry glares from the runner. "You'll see, one day, the wrath of the chalk will be upon you."

"On a lighter note, Lloyd, where's Daniel and Mattie?" May asked.

"They went back into town because Matthew wants to find a couple things to do." Lloyd said. "That kid wants to do things, but he's so little and..."

"Well, that's nice." Ginji sighed, stopping and picking up his shoe. "Why are there so many cows around here?"

"You didn't see that there?" May asked, turning around to face him. "Wow. I'm shocked. Daniel could have probably seen that."

"Oh," Ginji said quietly, before a loud yell of 'SUCCESS!' rang through the air. Ike poked his head out the window, smiling a little bit.

"Guess what I did with the dominoes! You said they were hard to set up, but I spent a whole day just setting them all up." He said, eye twitching a little bit. "You gotta see this!"

They all looked at each other, confused and almost afraid of what they'd see. It was almost insane what the saw. Dominoes lined each shelf, in a pattern where they could set each other off, a giant chain reaction all around. He had set up other starters, and it was evident that Chester left his science book in the fort.

"Oh snap. What did I do?"

Ike set one line off, then that set off another, and another, when the whole elaborate mess went off, it ended up he had rigged the dominoes to pour a glass of water. "I spent my_ whole day _working on this." Ike's eye twitched.

"That's it. Get your shoes. We're going out." May's eye twitched as she dropped her books.

"I thought you told me he was mute." Will said, tapping her shoulder.

"He's not. He had laryngitis." Ginji covered for her, watching as the boredom struck fighter came out of the fort.

"Oh..." Will nodded, confused. "Right..."

* * *

><p>~The Museum<p>

"I'm tired of hanging above a suit of armor!" Nero yelled, the wire he was hanging on was uncomfortable, and the belt was too tight on his stomach. And to top it off, he really needed to go. "Manzo, can you help me down?"

"Umm..." He frowned, looking up at him. "I think..."

"Manzo? Do you even know how to get me down?"

"N-No, I do!" Manzo replied calmly, holding up his hands to possibly calm the hanging teenager. "It'll be just a quick second..." He trotted off, breaking off into a quick run as he went up the stairs to get Nero down. "Umm...Er..."

"Come on, get me down!" Nero yelled, a little annoyed. He looked over to the door to see his group of friends around. And Ike was poking around outside, playing hackie sac with Lloyd. That was...Oh jeez. "Oh, uh...Hi?"

"What are you doing?" Max asked, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Umm...I can explain." Nero breathed, hanging limp. Manzo got the pulley system to work, pulling over the cable and lowering him down to the second floor.

"He was cleaning." Manzo explained, a goofy-sheepish smile spreading across his face as he looked outside. "Who's your friend?"

"That's my cousin, Ike." May said quickly, still a little wary. Not everyone could identify someone right out of a history book, but then again, not many people read. Everyone was working, not really doing much else.

"Ah." He looked from Ike to May, then back to Ike. "I can see the resemblance. He's on your mom's side, isn't he?"

"Y-You can tell...?" May looked like she was going to short out from lying too much.

"Hey, what's he doing here anyways?" Nero came down the stairs, confused.

"When you leave a guy with dominoes, things happen. He needed out." Chester said quietly. "He likes hackie sack."

It ended up that the trio wandered the streets, just talking. The other families were at home, spending time with their families and such.

"So you actually think that the weather's changed that much?" Lloyd asked, talking to Ike in disbelief. "I do realize it's been at least...a few centuries, but really?"

"Believe it or not, but I'm freezing, and by now, Daien should be having their annual rain storm." Ike said.

"Hey guys!" A taller teenager called, a leather strapped bag slung over his shoulder as the grime showed on him as he came closer. His shaggy brown hair needed to be cut, and he looked like any normal villager. "Back from drilling!"

"Jakob?" Chester rubbed his eyes, grinning widely. "Dude, you look like you fell in a mud puddle!"

"When you're drilling, there's gonna be mud." He fist bumped Chester and greeted everyone else, pretending to punch Lloyd. "Who's tall guy here?"

"It's a long story." Nero sighed.

"'Name's Ike." He nodded to Jakob, who just nodded in return.

"Is it just me, or does he sound like he has an old-world accent?" He kept nodding, brows furrowed.

They just looked at each other for a moment, confused. "Well...I didn't notice it." Ike finally said. "I always thought you people had the accents..."

Little did they know they were being watched from the museum. Mister Credillyad was at the second story library, smiling to himself. '_So they've got him out and about. This should be fun.' _

* * *

><p><em>There. Updated. I'm happy. :D<em>


	13. The Plot, and The Rain

_...Just because I feel in the mood._

_...Who knows who Mister Credillyad is? _

_*raises hand*_

* * *

><p>"Nero's boss seriously gives me the creeps." Jakob sighed after getting back to the fort. He had been messing with the dominoes, but nothing like Ike had done. They were still back in town, picking up a couple things. "It's like he's extremely old or something."<p>

"Well, maybe you're young and all that stuff, maybe you're crazy." Daniel sighed, Matthew was sleeping on the couch, tuckered out after a day of almost nothing. "I don't know about you, but he seems fine to me."

May was taking care of supper, Troy was messing with Anissa as she slept on the ground. She had liter ally passed out and then just lay there with her mouth agape, sprawled out on the floor. Troy had a couple feathers and a bit of strawberry preserves in her hand, just waiting for her to push the feather out of her face.

"He's kind of creepy in my eyes, too. I mean, he looks...like he's your mom's age, and he knows a whole buttload of stuff! It's like..." Troy frowned, stopping a bit, then smirking as Anissa rubbed the red mess on her nose. "He's secretly old."

"Nero and I hand some idea that he was Branded so he didn't age too quickly." May said, looking back at them. "That could be a possibility."

"Yeah, and the guy could have magic, too." Jakob said, looking around for a nod of agreement.

"You remember that 'magic' has been gone for centuries, right?" Daniel squinted. "It couldn't be..."

"Could it? Everything's acting up, and it's getting a little confusing." May shrugged.

"Just a little?" Will asked, coming in from outside. "Nero, Ike, Lloyd and Jakob are still out, if anyone wanted to know...And Chester went home."

"Oh, thanks." May nodded. Something hung in the air that night, and it wasn't too friendly either. What was it?

* * *

><p>"So, what you're telling me is that there's oil off the coast of Eastern Daein?" Ike asked, brows arched.<p>

"Yup, there's a huge field of it under the ocean, and thanks to a really long drill bit and some new technology, we've got it." Jakob explained.

"I don't understand it at all, but...good for you." Ike gave a confused smile, holding up a thumb. The air was thick with humidity, and it was just about time for the sun to set on the day. Nero was walking a little farther behind, Lloyd was fiddling with a new little puzzle he decided to pick up at the market they passed by. Already, he was confused.

"I don't understand this nonsense!" Lloyd groaned, holding the little pieces of the puzzle in his hand. "I'm supposed to put this back together?"

"That's the gist of it, right?" Nero asked, looking at it for himself. "It's a little more difficult than dominoes, right?"

"I was bored: you'd do the same thing if you found domin-..." Ike paused, the street was quiet. Too quiet. "Hear that?"

"Hear what?" Lloyd asked, looking around.

There was a slight ringing in the air, like when something was being a little too loud, then your ears rang when you left. "That ringing..." Jakob tried to get the noise out of his ears, digging a finger in there and wincing a bit as he tried to pop his eardrum.

A slight rain started, but the drops were a lighter blue color, and they seemed to glow a bit. When they hit the surface, the ground glimmered a bit where the drop hit. "What fresh madness is this?" Lloyd asked, wrinkling his nose as more rain fell.

"Come on, let's get outta this." Ike frowned, looking at the horizon. Something was glowing, and from under the empty shoppe tarp, it was growing brighter. It started raining harder, and that's when it all changed. New Crimea had turned into a bit of a dusty town, but after the rainstorm, everything was somehow lush and green. Ivy clung to everything, and all around was thick forest.

"Holy..." Nero breathed, eyes wide like the rest of them.

"Okay, now this looks like home." Ike said, blinking a couple times. "Now, what fresh madness is this now?"

"Everything's so...so...Green!"

"Yeah..." Nero looked around, everything was just...Perfect. "It's wrong..."

"Wrong?" Jakob asked, frowning. "How so?"

"It's just...I don't know."

"Well, I can't tell you that you're wrong...It looks good to me." Lloyd shrugged.

* * *

><p>Manzo looked out the window, watching the rain and the greenery grow at an alarming rate. "Holy Ashera..." He muttered, rubbing his eyes and looking again. "That did just happen, right?"<p>

"It did...what? Are you surprised?" Mister Credillyad said quietly, looking out the window as well. "Something has brought the magic of Tellius back, and I'm sure I know what it is...Or should I say 'who'?"

"What?" Manzo frowned, looking at his boss oddly. "Magic?"

"Yes, magic..." He smiled, eyes far away. "Magic. The Daein Royals should be finding out here soon, too. I shall have fun seeing what this results in."

"...Mister Credillyad, have I told you how much you look like 'Lehran' from the Golden Era?" Manzo said with a flat look.

"You haven't." He chuckled, still smiling. "There's a good reason, though..."

"And that is?"

"Lehran never really died." He sighed. "He actually helped the group of fighters restore the goddess, and then lived his life...to now. What you're looking at is yes, indeed, Lehran."

"Why are you still here then?" Manzo's voice uncharacteristically cracked, making him gulp to clear his throat.

"Someone has to restore the Goddess, no?" Lehran asked, arching an eyebrow at him. "With the magic and the Hero of the Blue Flames back, we have a good chance to restore her. The rain...it was a small sign that she was still here, that she is weak, but awakened, Manzo." He paused, looking back out the window. "Soon, everything will be as it was. Perfect."

* * *

><p><em>You thought I died. I feel so bad for not updating! <em>

_Okay, I'm going off the other ending if you played through twice. I know, I know, he died, he's mean, but he was just blah blah blah. So, we've found out Ike doesn't understand technology and the modern world. -shrugs- seems legit. _

_I shall update soon, if I can. D:_

_I love you guys~_


	14. What's really going on?

_...Updating again. _

_Thank you guys for not pushing me to update. e_e;_

_I-I'm going...!_

* * *

><p>"Okay, so let me get this straight." Mike frowned, crossing his arms. Makken nudged his arms, ready to get going The only problem was... "You want me to carry this crate of... whatever...to Goldoa?"<p>

"Yes, but we'll give you excellent pay! It's over eighty-thousand gold!"

"But they'll rip me to shreds! I don't know if you know this, but I like being in one chunk, and I'm sure Makken does, too!" Mike said with a slight raise of tone when Makken nudged him again. He liked to 'talk' with his actions, and the nudging basically said '_Get outta here, I don't wanna fly to Goldoa, I'll eat you if you do'_. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Mister Dunning if you would cons-"

"I'm sorry, we're out." He sighed, getting on Makken and flying off. "I hate that guy, you know? I don't usually, but I just do."

Makken nodded a bit as if he were saying 'it's understandable'. Soaring high above the Gallian Plains, Mike found comfort here. The high sirrius clouds were a precursor of bad weather coming, and there were Cumulus clouds coming in from around Begnion. "Looks like rain...You wouldn't want to go lightning hopping, would ya buddy?"

'_Um, no thanks, Mike...I like you and all for a human, but no.'_

The clouds seemed to bunch over New Crimea, which was odd. Everything had turned different one day, and it was even effecting the dragons and wyverns. He had heard the Kurthanaga had died, resting peacefully in the caverns near Goldoa, much like Nasir and Ena before him. "Oh well. We might have to stay in Crimea for the night. If worst comes to worst, we'll have to make an emergency landing."

_'Really?' _Makken snorted.

"I hear they've got a few things to do down there..."

* * *

><p>~Meanwhile in Daein...<p>

"I can't. Oh Goddess. Goddess..." Luci paced the corridor near her room, trying to make sense of this. "My hair is grey, and I can't...I need a spear. I need to throw something. EMIL."

"What?" He came out of his room, frowning. "You know, you're not helping me relax at all. Mind you, I kind of made a flash."

"Just...Shut up." Emil had accidentally caused a random orb of light to appear during their latest fight, earning Luci an eyeful burning light, which allowed Emil to get away. "I need to throw something and you're pretty darn close to flying out the window as it is." She growled, stepping closer and poking his chest. "I have a feeling...That we need to make a trip or something."

"Oh, please don't." Emil whined, shoulders drooping. "The last time we took a trip, we ended up getting attacked by bandits, and Griff had to save us. You know how angry dad got..."

"We'll take Serria and head out. You're small enough you can ride with me, right?"

"We're the same size. I'm on the reins. Last time you tried to kill us." Emil said, poking her back. "Anyways, we're gonna have to sneak out if anything, and you could take a couple hints."

"Shut up and let's go."

* * *

><p><em>I'm sorry. Short chapter is short, and I just need a short filler.<em>

_I've had so much go on so far, and I hope i can actually get to updating. I swear, I'll get something longer. _


	15. Bandits! (Shut up, Chester)

_Sorry I havent' been updating. Whew. This just...yeah. It's been difficult because I **am a senior** __in high school, and it's just...hectic. So, I'll just update here, read through my story and see what I can bring you for an update. LONG LIVE FIRE EMBLEM. __  
><em>

_And a side note: Is Ike's design in Awakening terrible? I don't even...why? I'm so excited for this game, and then they have rumors/stuff about Majora's Mask...fu fu fu fu~_

_I'm sorry if some seem out of character, I'm trying to pick this back up again._

* * *

><p>"Everyone's having weird problems, mom. It's really...like..." Nero couldn't help but to frown at the excessive static that was coming in over the sporadic phone line. It was easy to say that this primitive telephone system was indeed spotty, and if the wire connecting them was anywhere near bent, that would cause a disruption in the line. "It's confusing."<p>

"Hey, it can't be worse than your family tree. I've got the line back to a couple different people, actually. A woman named Agatha, and a man named Zelgius."

"Really? Zelgius?" The name seemed familiar, and for a not-so good reason, too. People were waiting outside the makeshift booth that he was standing in to telephone his mother, some looking rather irritated. "I'll have to look into that."

"Mister Credillyad would probably know something. Why don't you ask him when you work next?" She replied, voice cracking and popping over the connection.

"Okay, I'm gonna let you go, mom. Alright? I'll talk to you later." He hung up and sighed, trying to think as he walked out of the telephone booth, allowing someone else in. _'Zelgius?' _

"Hey!" Again, the familiar voice of Chester came to Nero's ears, the mage seemed frantic. "The fort! They're at the fort! Bandits and a dragon and-!" He yelled, feet still moving as he skidded to a stop in front of the other teen.

"Bandits?! How did they find the fort!?" He yelled back.

"They've got Matthew and May, and-!"

"Stop talking and run, you idiot!" Nero yelled, dragging him forward. There wasn't any time to lose here as they sprinted to the brush, unarmed. Manzo, being just let off his shift, caught sight of these two yelling and called after them.

"Boys, what's going on?"

"Bandits!"

"Bandits?" He echoed. So much had been going on, he wasn't really surprised at this. He had already brushed off the thought that his boss was immortal (maybe it was a late night and things were really just playing with his mind or something) and the odd blue rain was a first for the whole country.

"Yeah, bandits! We need help!"

"Say no more, give me a minute." Manzo said quickly, grabbing a lance and a couple javelins from a stash-spot he had. "Aren't you two armed?"

"Does it look like it?!" Chester was already getting himself worked up, jogging in place with a worried expression. "Gimme one of those fire books from the museum! We'll bring it back!"

"And I need a sword!"

"You really think one of those tomes is going to work?! You don't even know how to read it!" Manzo frowned. He was already getting a wide wrinkle on his forehead despite his young age. Either way, he decided it was okay to 'loan' a sword and a tome to the two, wondering if he'd be able to explain all of this to Credillyad.

The three ran down the way and into the brush, and with Manzo being a bit taller than them, he had a harder time crawling through the thickett. Sure enough, there were bandits circling the fort, a few shots of failing magic coming from the windows. "Must be Max or something..."

"Are they...Is that a wyvern? They're farther to the east...and wyvern wrangling is an almost dead art..." Manzo was looking around, trying to figure out what to do. There were thieves all around. It looked more like a caravan of gypsies than a group of thugs. A trickster performer was playing with knives. He looked quick, very quick, and very dangerous. "Why don't we...wait...That wyvern and rider look out of place."

"How so?"

"He's in with the shipping company! That's Daein International's logo on that satchel!" Chester said almost too loudly. "Why's he with them?!"

"SHHH! Shut up!" Nero growled. "What do we do?"

"...We can't just rush in there...we'd get shredded." Manzo muttered. "Is there a back door to the fort?"

"Um...I think so?" Nero nodded. "We don't even know what's going on inside, and I'm pretty sure...Ike. Ike's in there."

"Holy...wait, couldn't he just come out and obliterate everyone?"

"He's been in an ice cube for a long time, I doubt i-"

"What? What am I hearing with my ears about this Ike character?" Manzo said quickly, a serious face appearing. "Ike? As in the Iceman?"

"...Way to go, Chester! You ruined it!" Nero tried to cover up his mess that he made, the fire mage yelling back in his face and trying to blame it back on him.

The three squabbled until there was some sort of agreement. "Okay, we'll...we'll go in through the side door, assess the whole situation and then work on getting everyone safe again."

"I'll make a distraction!" Without a second thought, Chester chanted something from the tome, grinning as his fingers and palm glowed a bit. A giant fireball emerged in the sidelines of the battle, causing a fiery havoc.

"Chester?!"

"No time, Manzo! Run run run!" Chester chortled, speeding off to the side door (which was a giant gaping hole in the side of the fort. There was a trap door, and a rock they rolled in the way of the hole so that nothing else got in. Once under the fort, it was darker than night, and the scuttling of feet could be heard.

"Where's the trap door!?"

"There's a trap door?"

"I'll give us some light!"

"NO!" They both yelled, pushing up the floor and finding the door...and many sharp objects in their faces.

"Chester? Nero? You're alive..." Anissa blinked, looking at them both sleepily. Max was at the window, Troy was running around making repairs and helping out an scraped up Ginji. There was a very angry looking Lloyd and Daniel, easing up as soon as they saw the trio trying to get out of the floor. Ike gritted his teeth, frowning. Will was plotting out the window, seeing how many that gigantic ball of fire had taken out.

"Five down, ten to go." He shouted.

"Great...Chester, Nero and friend, welcome to the fort, we've been ambushed." Ike growled.

"So Matthew and Daniel are captured?"

"Yes. It's a bother...They're in the middle wagon..." Ike pointed. "We'll need to get a couple of us to go in and rush them..."

"That'd be risky. I say go around the back and make a swooping pattern to go around and take them all out. Like...You know what I mean, right?" Nero proposed.

"...Nah. I say we rush."

"Swoop."

"Rush." Ike said firmly, getting a bit of a stare in return from Nero.

"We really need to figure this out, just...keep firing attacks from the window." Manzo suggested. "And we need to talk to that Wyvern Knight!"

* * *

><p><em>Okay, okay, that was a warm up back into the Fire Emblem fandom.<em>

_I'm so sorry that I haven't been updating. It's a bother that the school I go to blocks anything with the word 'Games' in it. I'm on now, so huzzah! _

_Thank you again to all the oc providers! _

_I should have this up and going again very soon!_


	16. Author's Note

_Author's Note: _

_I'm so very sorry I haven't been updating. I've been working, and I've been stuck in the Hetalia fandom—It's not a nice place sometimes, but it's where I've been writing. _

_I have started college ,and I have played Fire Emblem: Awakening. Huzzah! So I shall look back to the characters and see if I can't get something up! _

_I'm so sorry, guys! It's close to Finals Week!_

_Much Love—Nira_


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